keep short accounts

Today Terry and I were talking about the several times we've sold homes and moved. Why is it that we live in a house for 5, 10, 15, 20 years or more, and don't keep up with the little things? Dirty spots on the walls, paint chipped off of baseboards, stain needing re-doing on the deck...just make your own list. Then, when you're selling your home and getting it ready to show, suddenly you notice all these things that need to be done to "spiff" it up. Why didn't you do it before? I can say that until we look at the house, room, front door, through the eyes of a prospective buyer, we really kinda get used to seeing it that way and really don't see the flaws. Probably many of us are that way with our cars as well.....empty water (coke?) bottles, little scraps of paper, lone french fries......and that sand that gets on the carpets from continually getting in and out of the car. It could be that guys take a little better care of their cars.....I've met some fanatics, sure you have too. But there are those certain people who, every time we get into their cars, they say the same thing. "Oh, I've really got to clean this car!" And you know what? It never happens.....but I guess they just want us to know that THEY know it's in need of a good cleaning.
Maybe that's how it is with life (ya think?). I think that God wants constant fellowship with us for a very good reason. He told us to meet regularly with fellow believers.....He definitely wants us to read and memorize His word, and He wants us to keep short accounts with our family and friends. Meaning.....dust, paint, clean.....our lives regularly. If there's something wrong between two (or more) of us, we need to address it immediately and not let it go any longer. We need to "clear the air" with each other AND with the Lord often. He wants to hear from us every day. A.W. Tozer said, "No Christian, if he is right with God, should ever need to hide anything in his life." Of course, God sees it all anyway....we just think we're hiding something. But it's the same with us as we told our kids......if you're not doing anything wrong, why are you hiding?
The older I get, the more I realize that God made it that way for our protection. He is our Father and He wants us to come to Him with absolutely everything. When we are so close to Him and checking with Him about each aspect of our lives, we seem to find it easier to live the way He wants us to. Didn't we also tell our kids, "you become like the people you hang out with"? My goal is to become more like Jesus every day, so I need to "hang out" with Him all the time. My sister was telling me about a devotional she read that said our prayers need to be just like breathing, like our heartbeats......regular and constant. "Pray without ceasing," we're told.